Packing apparatus



Jam 29 was,

H. P. VAIL ET AL PAGKING APPARATUS 2 Shee'ts-Sh eat 1 Filad April 27.1925

. June 29 1926.

' 'H. P. VAIL ET 1.

PACKING APPARATUS Filed April 27, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet z Patented June 29, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE.

HAROLD P. VAIL, OF LOS ANGELES, AND EDWARD P. WRIGHT, OF EL SEG'UNDO, CALI FORNIA, ASSIGNORS F ONE-THIRD TO MARVIN L. CHAPPELL, OF EL SEGUNDO',

camronma.

Application filed April 27, 1925.

This invention relates to packing apparatus for pumps of the centrifugal type. In

' recent practice, high-speed rotary pumps have been used for pumping gasoline or oil through long pipe lines and in their operation raise the pressure in the liquid being pumped, by stages. These pumps are run at a relatively high speed, for example, 2%00 turns per minute. With this high speed of rotation itis difli'cult to maintain the packing of the bearings intact; if the liquid being pumped is excluded from the packing, the shaft will run hot and the packing will burn out. For this reason, it has been the practice to permit a quantity of the liquid being pumped to escape through the stutiing boxes, but where high pressures are employed, the loss of this liquid is very considerable and becomes a decidedly uneconomical factor in the operation of such a pump. \Vhere gasoline is being pumped in this .way, the relatively large amount of gasoline which escapes along the shaft past the stuiling boxes develops a problem of n how to dispose of this gasoline. With most types of packing. such gasoline in passing through the stuifing boxes becomes so discolored that it cannot be used again without being run again through the refinery.

The general object of this invention is to provide a packing apparatus for overcommg these objections, and which will operate to prevent the loss of the gasoline which passes through the stuiling boxes, and to provide an organizationof parts of the apparatus which will enable the pump to run continuously for a relatively-long period of time without necessitating repacking. The invention is concerned with the operation of a pump which develops a high pressure in the liquid by stages and one of the objects of the invention is to provide efficient means for withdrawing the liquid which leaks into the stul'ling boxes and returning the same to the suction line of the ump.

Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel parts and combination of parts to be described hereinafter, all of which contributes to produce an efficient packing apparatus.

type; and

PACKING APPARATUS.

Serial No. 26,114.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following specification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out in the'appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan of a high-speed rotary pump embodying our invention.

\ Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the pum shown in Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section taken through a pump of four-stage unit Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section taken through an ejector and its connections which isemployed for effecting a return of the liquid which reaches the stalling boxes, to the suction line pump.

In practicing our invention, we provide a stufling box with means such as a pump or ejector for returning the liquid which leaks into the stufling box back in to the suctionfside of the pump. The pump or ejector is preferably actuated by the liquid under pressure which is developed by the pump, that is to say, liquid taken from the discharge side of the pump. 'VVe will now describe an embodiment of the invention as applied to an eight-stage pump composed of two single four-stage pumps, referring especially to Figures 1 and 2. In these views, 1 represents a prime mover which is coupled to the pump shaft 2, said shaft extending through two single pumps 3 with a shaft coupling 4 between the shaft sections.

In applying our invention to such a pump, we provide a connection from the pump for admitting a quantity of the liquid under pressure from the pump back into the suction side of the pump, and we also provide a connection from the stufiing box or stuffing boxes leading into the first named connection and operating towithdraw the liquid or gasoline which leaks into the stufl'ing box, from the interior of the pump, and in this way the gasoline from the stuffing boxes is of the different stages; in this way we reguprovided with a valve 22.

late the pressure employed for entraining the gasoline from the stufling boxes and we prefer to employ an ejector to facilitate this operation. In the present instance, we provide a suction line 5 leading into the low pressure volute 6.

In'the operation of the pump, the gasolinepasses into the second stage volute 6 and from this volute it passes through a return bend 7 into the third stage volute 6 which in turn is connected with the fourth stage volute 6". From this point the gasoline leaves the right-hand pump 3 and passes by a pipe 8 over to the fifth stage volute 6. From this point the gasoline passes in the same manner: as in the other pump through the volutes 6', 6 and 6 and is finally expelled through adelivery pipe 9 at the high-pressure side of the pump.

We provide a plurality of connections 10 leadin off from the diiferent volutes, each provi ed with its own valve 11; and these connections all connect up to a pipe main 12 provided with a valve 13 between the two single pumps 3. Adjacent the left hand pump 3, the pipe main 12 is provided with a connection 14 including'a valve 15 and a pipe fitting in the form of an ejector 16 which is coimected. to the suction side of the pump; in the present instance this ejector is connected so as to deliver the gasoline into the suction pipe 5. Adjacent the right hand pump, a similar connection 17 is provided, including its valve 18 and an ejector 19 which is connected to the suction pipe 5 at the point 20. The connections 14 and 17 are each provided with a pressure gauge 21.

. The connections 16 and 17 are also each The stufiing boxes 23 of the pump may be of any construction; in the present instance each stuffing box includes metallic packing rings 24 with a spacer ring or'cage 25 separating the packing rings. From each stuffing box,.we lead off a pipe connection 26, and these pipe connections are preferably tapped into the stuffing boxes at the cage rings 25. At the right hand pump 3, the two connections 26 are connected through a T 27 and pipe 28 to the ejector 19, and each valve 29.

connection 26 is provided. with its own.

At the left hand ump 3 a similar piping arrangement is use that is to say, we provide a pipe 30 and valve 30 corresponding to each stufiing box, the said pipes 30 being connected through-a T 31 and a pipe 32 to the ejector 16 (see Fig. 4 The two ejec-. tors 16 and 19 are similar in construction. As illustrated in Fig. 4, the high-pressure gasoline coming from the different .ump stages may be admitted through the e ector by means of a discharge opening preferably in the form of an inner nozzle 33. As the than the pressure obtainable by operating any single pump or unit not operating to raise the pressure by stages; in other words, the pressure used at the ejector is higher than the rise in pressure between the stages.

The pipe connections 28 and 32 are pro; vided with individual gauges 34 for indi-. cating the pressure or vacuum. The rotors 35 of the pumps are keyed to the shaft, and beyond the stufling boxes suitable bearings 36 for the shaft are provided.

In the operation of the pump, the compression by stages is effected by a rise in pressure of about eighty pounds for each stage. By opening or closing the different valves 11 which correspond. to the different stages, the pressure in the pipe connections let and 17 may be regulated as desired. In

practice, in this pump operating with eighty pounds pressure er square inch between the stages, we have ound that a very satisfactory condition of the stuffing boxes results by regulating the valves of the pipe connections so as to give about one hundred twenty pounds gauge pressure for the gasoline which is admitted intothe ejector. With this pressure, we can maintain about a five-inch vacuum on the stuffing boxes. This will withdraw the gasoline in sufiicient uantities to'prevent waste, but will still permit enough gasoline to remain on the shaft to prevent burning out of the packing.

Although we have described the formation of a partial vacuum to draw the liquid from the stuffing boxes, the apparatus will oper ate even if there is pressure existing in the stufling boxes higher than atmospheric pressure. In any case the higher pressure liquid flowing through the ejector will withdraw liquid from the stuffing boxes. Any desired pressure may be maintained in the main, by properly regulating the valves from the differcnt stages.

In usin the term rotar um i" throiwln a .l p l h out the specification and claims, we do not restrict the meaning to what is commonly called a rotary pump, that is to say, by the term rotary pump we mean any pump in which the impeller performs its function by rotating.

, It is to be understood that the embodiment of the invention described herein is only one of the many embodiments this in Alma:

may take, and we do not wish in the practice of the invention, nor in the claims, to the particular embodiment set p forth.

What we claim is 1. In packing apparatus for a rota pump, the combination of a shaft with stu fing boxes, a plurality of pump units on the shaft co-operating to develop high pressure in a liquid by stages, means for admitting quantities of liquid under pressure-higher than the rise of pressure between the different stages, back. to the suction side of the pump, and connections from the stufling boxes co-operating with said means to withdraw liquid leaking into the stufling boxes from the interior of the pump and return the same to the suction side of the pump.

2. In packing apparatus for a rota? pump, the combination of a shaft with stu fing boxes, a plurality of pump units on the shaft cooperating to develop high pressure in a liquid by stages, a connection from the pump for admitting quantities of the li uid under a pressure higher than the rise of pressure between the different stages, back to the suction side of the pump, and

connections from the stufiing boxes leading into the first named connection operating to withdraw liquid leaking into the stufiing boxes from the interior of the pump and return the same to the suction side of the P P- 0 3. In packlng apparatus for a rota pump, the combination of a shaft with stu fing boxes, a plurality of pump units on the shaft operating to develop high pressure in the liquid b stages, a connection from the pump for a mitting quantities of the liquid under the pressure of the different stages back into the suction side of the pump,and connections from the stuffing boxes leading into the first named connection operating to withdraw liquid leaking into the stutfing boxes from the interior of 'the pump and return the same to the suction side of the pump. 4. In packing apparatus for a highspeed rotary pump, the combination of a shaft with stufling boxes, a plurality of pump units for developing high pressure in the liquid by stages, a pipe main, connections from the pump to the main for admitting quantities of the liquid at the different pressure stages to the main, a connection including an ejector with a projecting discharge nozzle within the same connecting the main to the low ressure side of the pump, and connections rom the stufling boxes to the ejector operating to withdraw liquid leaking into the stuflin boxes from the interior of the pump and boxes from the interior of the return the same 'to the suction side of the 5. In packing apparatus for a high-speed rotary pump, the combination of a shaft with stuffing boxes, a plurality of pump units for developing high pressure in a liquid by stages, a pipe main, connections from the pump to the main for admitting quantities of the liquid at the different pres sure stages to the main, a connection including an ejector with a discharge opening for the high pressure liquid connecting the main to the low pressure side of'the pump, and connections from the stuffin boxes to the ejector for admitting the liquld leakinginto the stufling boxes from the interior of the pump into the ejector around the discharge opening, operating to return the same to the suction side of the pump, and means for regulating the pressure of the high-pressure liquid flowing through the ejector.

6. In packing apparatus for a high-speed rotary pump, the combination of a shaft with stufling boxes, a plurality of pump units for developing high pressure in the liquid by stages, a p1pe main with valves, valved connections from the pump to the main for leading quantities of the liquid at the different pressure stages to the main, a connection including an ejector and a valve for connecting the main to the low pressure side .of the pump, and connections from the stuffing boxes to the ejector operating to withdraw liquid leaking into the stufling boxes from the interior, of the pump and return the same to the suction side of stufiing boxes, a pipe main, connections from Y the different volutes to the main for pumping quantities of the liquid at the different pressure stages to the main, a connection including an ejector connecting the main to the low pressure side of the pump, and connections from the stuffing boxes to the ejector operating to admit liquid to the e ector at a higher pressure than the rise of pressure between the stages, and thereby withdraw liquid leaking into the stufling ump and return the same to the suction slde of the pump.

17th day of April 1925.

. HAROLD P. VAIL. EDWARD P'. WRIGHT.

Signed at Los Angeles, California this the pump, said valves operating to enable the pressure of the high-pressure liquid. 

